Chapter 236 235: Planning and Merlin’s Memories

Hogwarts was shrouded in a thin layer of mist in the early morning.

On the dome of the hall, the morning light shines through the stained glass, and its reflection on the ancient stone walls makes it look particularly quiet. Now is the time when the sun rises and all things come back to life.

Dumbledore and Nick Flamel stood side by side, their figures outlined particularly clearly in the morning light.

“It’s done, Nick.” The old headmaster Dumbledore stood in the middle of the hall, wearing a dark purple robe, his long silver beard fluttering gently in the breeze.

“Yes, Albus, I have to go back to the office and study the rainwater that Ian brought back. Maybe I can find some secrets about the disappearance of the gods.”

Nick Flamel raised his glasses on the bridge of his nose, with a focused look unique to scholars on his face. Facing his old friend, he did not hide what he wanted to study.

“Ah.”

Dumbledore nodded slightly, his silver beard swaying gently as he moved. “I also have some things I have to do every morning that I haven’t completed yet. I need to go back to the office to do some morning lessons.”

As he spoke, he looked down at the exquisite pocket watch on his hand. The hands on the dial seemed to be urging him. Seeing Nick leave, the old principal also hurriedly walked towards the stairs.

The stairs at Hogwarts were as unpredictable as ever, but Dumbledore seemed to have gotten used to their capriciousness. He slowly ascended the spiral staircase all the way to the eighth floor. Along the way, several early-rising wizards were rushing to the Great Hall. When they saw the headmaster, they all stopped and greeted Dumbledore enthusiastically.

In the hearts of today’s young wizards, Dumbledore is the idol. Perhaps they don’t have the same respect for Merlin as they do for Dumbledore.

“Good morning, Headmaster Dumbledore!” a Hufflepuff boy wearing glasses said timidly with a look of admiration on his face.

“Good morning, child. The first class today is Charms, right? Remember to bring your wand. Professor Flitwick doesn’t like people forgetting their tools.”

Dumbledore winked at the little boy, and the little boy’s face immediately flushed with joy, as if he was happy that Dumbledore could remember their class schedule.

“Yes, yes, Professor! Of course I won’t forget!” As he said this, the little boy and his friends took out their wands as if they were going to show them to Dumbledore for inspection.

“Very good, it seems that you all have good memories, unlike me when I was in school, I always forgot to bring my wand.” I don’t know if what Dumbledore said is true.

Anyway, the little wizards were all very happy to hear this, and they kept asking about the headmaster’s past. After a while, Dumbledore looked at the backs of these little wizards with a trace of kindness in his eyes.

Then he continued to walk forward without changing, with a gentle smile on his face, as if he was a kind elder who cared about the growth of every student.

However, when he pushed open the door of the principal’s office and stepped into the room full of ancient magic, the smile on his face disappeared instantly, replaced by a deep solemnity, as if some heavy burden was pressing on his heart. The walls of the office were covered with portraits of past principals, all of whom were resting with their eyes closed.

“It’s almost time.”

Dumbledore walked straight to an ancient cupboard in the corner of the room.

The surface of the cupboard was engraved with complicated runes, emitting a faint magical fluctuation. The old principal waved his hand lightly, and the cupboard door opened silently.

Inside was a silver meditation basin with a faint glow of liquid in it, and next to the meditation basin, dozens of small glass bottles were neatly arranged.

Each bottle represents a precious memory.

Dumbledore’s gaze lingered on the bottles for a moment, and then he slowly drew out the Elder Wand and pointed it at his temple. As he flicked it lightly, a wisp of memory with a somewhat strange color slowly emerged from his mind, like a light ribbon, wrapped around the top of the wand.

The color of this memory is different from the ordinary silver. It is mixed with a few strands of gray and blood-like colors, as if it was polluted by some force.

“Ok?”

Dumbledore looked at this memory with some surprise, but he still used his wand to bring it to the portraits of successive headmasters and spoke softly to them.

“Principals, as before, I ask you to keep it for me.” As he said this, Dumbledore imprinted his extracted memories into the portrait.

Get this done.

Dumbledore stared at the portraits of the headmasters, wondering what he was thinking.

“Who is influencing us?” A familiar and slightly hoarse voice suddenly sounded behind him. Dumbledore knew who it was without turning around – it was Grindelwald.

His old friend, old rival.

“Gellert, are you done?”

Dumbledore’s voice was calm.

“That’s about right. We’re at the same starting line again. Why don’t we compete to see who can go further?” Grindelwald seemed to be issuing a challenge but in fact it was an invitation.

Dumbledore did not respond.

He just stared up at the portrait that helped him hide his memories.

“This time, it seems that I chose to forget.” Dumbledore whispered, with a hint of confusion in his voice, but he did not think of checking his memory.

“I told you, besides Slytherin, there is another person hidden… someone who may be more difficult to deal with than Slytherin.” Grindelwald raised his eyebrows in surprise.

There was a hint of solemnity in his tone.

“But… what kind of person is it?” Dumbledore raised a finger as if to touch the portrait, but he withdrew his finger before touching the portrait.

“I trust my own judgement.”

He was not controlled by his curiosity.

Instead, he turned and looked at Grindelwald.

“It’s time to verify our previous idea.”

Dumbledore’s tone was filled with some uncontrollable emotions. Even with his self-control, he could not completely conceal the hint of anxiety in his eyes.

……

the other side.

In the dormitory of Ravenclaw Common Room.

After Merlin cast his magic, it was as if invisible strings were plucked in the air, making a subtle vibration. Ian felt his eyes blurred and his vision was filled with white threads pulled out by Merlin in his temple.

I saw.

The original real scene peeled off like broken lenses, and was replaced by countless gleaming threads. The surrounding scene seemed to be kneaded, pulled, and distorted by an invisible hand.

The threads intertwine and tangle, quickly weaving a whole new landscape.

“Ancient magic.”

Ian stood aside, watching Merlin’s spellcasting intently, his eyes showing both amazement at the subtlety of the magic and a bit of thoughtfulness. This was not the first time he had come into contact with this kind of memory magic that took people on a tour of their memories, and he had even studied and explored it himself.

However, the magic that Merlin performed, both in terms of the use of magic power and the presentation of the effect, gave him a new understanding of memory magic. Those threads were not only the carriers of memory, but also the extension of Merlin’s emotions, each of which carried his joys, sorrows, anger and happiness.

“Is it okay for you to cast magic like this?” The young wizard looked at Merlin. He still remembered the restriction of the Wizard King that he could not cast magic that was too complicated.

“I’m just useless, not dead.” Merlin’s response was very direct. Under his control, the memory scene began to be fully constructed.

The surrounding silk threads gradually dissipated, replaced by a fairytale forest. The sun shone through the gaps between the leaves, creating mottled light and shadows on the ground. The air was filled with the fragrance of grass and wild flowers, and in the distance, a majestic monastery could be seen, its white walls shining in the sun.

Ian once again felt the familiar traces of the divine presence.

“You can even simulate these in your memory?” Ian secretly clicked his tongue. After two thousand years, Merlin’s progress in magic was indeed much better than when he was a “young man”.

“Whether you admit it or not, I am the pinnacle of magic.” Merlin regained his confidence, but when he saw the little wizard looking at him, his chest didn’t seem so straight anymore.

“Where is this?” Ian looked around with a sense of wonder. This forest was different from any other place he had seen before, as if every tree and every leaf had a kind of lively vitality. He looked down at his feet and found that the ground was covered with soft grass, and stepping on it felt like stepping on clouds.

In a dreamlike forest.

Tall trees rose from the ground, their trunks so thick that several people could hardly hug them, and their lush branches and leaves intertwined with each other, blocking out the sun, leaving only mottled sunlight shining through the gaps onto the ground.

The air was filled with the fresh scent of grass and trees, mixed with a hint of floral fragrance. Ian’s eyes wandered around the forest and soon noticed the figure of a little boy.

“That was me when I was little.” Merlin explained, with a bit of nostalgia in his eyes. Young Merlin was running and playing happily in the forest, with an innocent smile on his face. He stopped and carefully handed a handful of nuts to a squirrel.

The little squirrels happily took the food, held it in their little paws, and began to eat it with relish. From time to time, they rubbed their little heads against little Merlin’s hands to show affection.

“You were really cute when you were little.”

Ian couldn’t help but laugh, with a hint of teasing in his tone.

Merlin did not respond, but just looked at his younger self quietly, his eyes full of tenderness and nostalgia. The corners of his mouth slightly raised, as if he was recalling that carefree time.

Just at this time.

One by one, the furry little rabbits came out of the forest. Little Merlin squatted down and actually started a conversation. The little rabbits pricked up their ears as if they were listening carefully to Merlin’s words.

“What is this? A druid?”

Ian’s eyes moved back and forth between little Merlin and the surrounding animals, and he couldn’t help but feel a little emotional. He noticed that the communication between little Merlin and the animals was not just about feeding, but a deeper level of communication. The animals seemed to understand his words and even respond to his emotions.

Facing Ian’s question, Merlin nodded and said softly: “Yes, I have been able to communicate with animals since I was a child. This ability is indeed a druid’s ability.”

have to say.

Merlin is indeed blessed.

“You are really a talented freak.” Even the young wizard couldn’t help but feel a little envious in his heart. He still remembered the boring process of learning various languages.

Rao is so.

He still has many languages ​​to learn. Most wizards are like this. In order to communicate with other races, they have to spend a lot of time learning various languages ​​and magic. But Merlin can communicate with animals naturally. This talent can definitely make almost all wizards feel both envious and helpless.

You know, even Slytherins only speak Parseltongue and can only communicate with snakes, but Merlin can listen to the voices of all things and communicate with all things.

The gap between the two in this regard is extremely large.

“Me? Can I be considered a genius?” Merlin was slightly stunned, then shook his head helplessly. He seemed to disagree with Ian’s words and looked away.

at the same time.

Little Merlin presented by memory magic also approached that side.

While playing with the little animals, young Merlin inadvertently raised his head and looked at the branches of a big tree. There, a raven stood quietly, its feathers were black and shiny, like silk in the dark night, gleaming with a metallic luster. And its golden eyes were like two dazzling gems.

“Not red?”

Ian was a little surprised.

Merlin didn’t respond.

He just continued to watch his younger self approach.

“You are so beautiful!”

Little Merlin was attracted by the raven’s unique temperament and felt a strong curiosity in his heart, so he tried to get closer to the raven with a piece of bread in his hand.

“Hello, little one, would you like something to eat?”

Little Merlin said softly, with a hint of anticipation in his tone. He tried to communicate with the raven, and used a method that had always worked well among small animals.

however.

However, the raven did not fly down to enjoy the food as Merlin expected. It just glanced at the bread in Merlin’s hand with contempt and spoke in a slightly sarcastic tone.

“Sorry, I don’t eat raw food, I like to eat [but not coriander]…” Raven’s disdainful voice was a bit sharp, and Merlin still couldn’t understand the meaning of it until now.

Little Merlin couldn’t understand it even more. However, he was stunned for a moment, and then he noticed the special thing about the raven. This raven was actually speaking human language!

“You can speak? Speak human language?”

Little Merlin had a look of astonishment on his face. His mouth opened slightly, as if he couldn’t believe his ears. But this astonishment only lasted for a moment.

“Hmm? You look down on me?”

Soon, facing the unhappy Raven, the expression on his face was replaced by surprise, and he even jumped up excitedly, waving his hands and shouting loudly.

“Wow, that’s great! I finally meet some magical creatures!” The little boy’s emotions were so direct, but this obviously angered the raven on the branch.

“If you can’t talk, just keep talking! You are the magical creature! Your whole family is magical creatures! Your father speaks so nicely, how could he give birth to a thing like you!”

The raven suddenly flew up, flapping its wings in the air, making a “fluttering” sound. Its tone was annoyed, as if it was offended by little Merlin’s words.

Before little Merlin could react, the raven had already pounced on his head, and pecked at him mercilessly with its sharp beak. Little Merlin screamed and held his head with both hands, trying to avoid the raven’s attack. However, the raven was very fast, and each peck landed accurately on his head. Soon, his head was covered with lumps of various sizes.

“Ah! Stop pecking! I was wrong!”

Little Merlin ran and shouted, his voice a little tearful, but the raven refused to give in, chasing after him, saying nothing, just pecking wildly.

Ian couldn’t help but twitch his lips as he watched this scene. He recalled that he had pecked Merlin in the form of a raven after his Animagus transformation.

“Coincidence, it’s all coincidence…”

Merlin certainly wasn’t convinced by Ian’s explanation.

“This was the first time I met you, and it was also the most relaxed time I had when I met you.” Merlin’s tone was filled with a hint of emotion, and as if he was relieved after experiencing many vicissitudes of life.

He seemed 100% sure that Ian was the raven.

“And what happened next? What happened next?”

Ian couldn’t help but ask, with a hint of curiosity in his tone. After hearing this, Merlin’s face flashed with distress, and the scene changed again with a wave of his hand.

“Quick! Use magic to open this can for me! I just had my mouth serviced today!”

“Alchemy is easy. You are Merlin, so you should increase your strength. You already know what alchemy is. Hurry and make me a hundred copies of this Deathly Hallows. No, ten thousand copies!”

“That’s it? That’s it? You dare to call me Merlin for that? Open your magic book! Don’t you see it says wizards are gods? What? No? Wait for me to dip my mouth in some ink… Now this sentence is in your magic book. If you still can’t learn the magic of [Falling Stars] today, don’t call yourself Merlin!”

“Why don’t you just change your name to Merlin Spam? You can’t control the name Merlin!”

The scene is not solidified.

The sound of ravens has already been heard.

This shows how big a shadow the raven left in Merlin’s heart.

(End of this chapter)